THREE DECADES OF BRAZIL-CHINA RELATIONS: MAPPING SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Abstract

Over the past three decades, China and Brazil have developed a robust and multifaceted relationship characterized by cooperation across various sectors. This relationship extends into numerous areas, including poverty reduction, social development, scientific and technological innovation, environmental protection, climate change mitigation, the low-carbon economy, and the digital economy. Despite the substantial bilateral relations between Brazil and China, we are particularly interested in understanding the discussions within the scientific literature over the past 30 years and identifying new avenues for future research. To achieve this objective, we conducted an extensive Systematic Literature Review and applied bibliometric laws and lexical analyses to a total of 208 studies. The bibliometric analyses revealed that the peak of publications involving Brazil and China occurred in 2016. The scientific journal that published the greatest number of articles was the International Organisations Research Journal of the Russian Federation, and the most prolific author was Professor Mihaela Papa from Tufts University in the U.S. We identified four central research lines that could be developed in future studies: (i) Emerging Geopolitical Dynamics and the Role of BRICS; (ii) Economic and Trade Relationships within BRICS; (iii) South-South Cooperation and Alternative Development Models; (iv) Interdisciplinary Perspectives on BRICS.